Thursday, February 13, 2025
Woody Species Control at Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area
Woody Species Control at Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
S.R. 83 PFO site (Holmes County) This 5,671-acre wildlife area is situated in northeastern Ohio in portions of Wayne and Holmes counties. The area extends north from Holmesville to three miles south of Wooster, and lies between State Route 83 on the east and State Route 226 on the west. The area is in a shallow, U-shaped glacial outwash valley. Approximately half of the wildlife area consists of marsh and swamp that is flooded during some portion of the year. This |
wetland complex is Ohio’s largest remaining marshland outside of the Lake Erie region. We will be working at one of the sites for Eastern prairie fringed orchid (PFO) which occurs at Killbuck Marsh.
We will be cutting woody species, primarily dogwood, alder, and willow, hauling brush out of the sedge meadow, and treating the cut stems with herbicide. Herbicide treatment will be done by DOW staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. ONAPA will provide loppers and handsaws.
Directions: This PFO site is located on the west side of Holmesville, just off State Route 83. We will park at the Holmesville Conservation Club on Franklin Street/320. We will be working in the sedge meadow across the road from this parking lot. If you have not worked at this site before, more detailed directions will be sent to you after you register for the project.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, gloves, and good hiking boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by licensed or trained ONAPA stewardship assistants and volunteers. Tools will be provided.
RSVP: If you would like to attend, please REGISTER. If you have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE. Online registration is important for our planning.
We will be cutting woody species, primarily dogwood, alder, and willow, hauling brush out of the sedge meadow, and treating the cut stems with herbicide. Herbicide treatment will be done by DOW staff or trained ONAPA volunteers. ONAPA will provide loppers and handsaws.
Directions: This PFO site is located on the west side of Holmesville, just off State Route 83. We will park at the Holmesville Conservation Club on Franklin Street/320. We will be working in the sedge meadow across the road from this parking lot. If you have not worked at this site before, more detailed directions will be sent to you after you register for the project.
What to bring: Bring lunch, water, gloves, and good hiking boots. Herbicide treatment will be done by licensed or trained ONAPA stewardship assistants and volunteers. Tools will be provided.
RSVP: If you would like to attend, please REGISTER. If you have questions, please contact The Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association HERE. Online registration is important for our planning.
Celebrate OIPC's 20th Anniversary Celebration February 19 at its Annual Meeting
Get out into nature and join OIPC for its Annual Meeting February 19 at the Hopewood Pines Camp in Marengo, north of Columbus in Morrow County. OIPC will also be celebrating its 20th anniversary. The agenda is available HERE and is filled with talks about a public garden initiative to help identify problematic species, engaging people in conservation, learning about a crabapple conundrum, and management and research updates. Cost is $45 -- $20 for students -- (lunch included!) and you can sign up on EVENTBRITE.
Get out into nature and join OIPC for its Annual Meeting February 19 at the Hopewood Pines Camp in Marengo, north of Columbus in Morrow County. OIPC will also be celebrating its 20th anniversary. The agenda is available HERE and is filled with talks about a public garden initiative to help identify problematic species, engaging people in conservation, learning about a crabapple conundrum, and management and research updates. Cost is $45 -- $20 for students -- (lunch included!) and you can sign up on EVENTBRITE.
Three stewardship projects completed in January with no cancellations due to weather
Despite some cold and snowy days in January, ONAPA started off the new year with three stewardship projects and did not have to cancel any of them. We appreciated the hardy volunteers and DNAP staff that joined us as we accomplished good work on these preserves all three days:
- Lakeside Daisy Preserve (January 14) - red cedar removal with six people
- Brinkhaven Oak Barrens (January 23) - woody species removal in the north barrens with five people (photo)
- Bonnett Pond Bog (January 28) - woody species removal in the bog meadow with nine people
Winter trees that show a hint of spring
Story and photo by John Watts
February is still winter; however, there are hints that the season is progressing towards a change. Temperatures tend to moderate and cloudless, blue sky days entice us to put on boots for a hike. This is a great time of year to visit and enjoy the beauty and majesty of some of Ohio’s largest trees. One that comes to mind is the Logan Oak. This White Oak is located in the old Logan Cemetery on North Mulberry across the street from the Trinity Lutheran Church. Many have written about this local Logan, Ohio landmark. While it is not the State Champion White Oak, it is still an impressive tree. Measured at 70-feet tall, 22-feet in circumference (266 inches), with an average crown spread of 100-feet, the Logan Oak has been estimated to be between 500 and 600 years old. Give that some thought. Even being conservative, this tree began its life around the year 1500-1525 A.D.! Ohio is home to 14 National Champion Trees, meaning they are the largest of that species that have been found and recorded in the United States. To view a listing of the largest of each tree species in Ohio, visit the Ohio Division of Forestry’s webpage: https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/forestry/champion-trees/champion-trees.
So, what’s the hint of spring? In this photo are a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks sitting in the tree. They are not side by side, but time of year initiates a start to the court shipping season. Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks begin pairing up by the end of February. Nesting is usually underway by mid to late March. Look carefully and see if you can find the pair.
February is still winter; however, there are hints that the season is progressing towards a change. Temperatures tend to moderate and cloudless, blue sky days entice us to put on boots for a hike. This is a great time of year to visit and enjoy the beauty and majesty of some of Ohio’s largest trees. One that comes to mind is the Logan Oak. This White Oak is located in the old Logan Cemetery on North Mulberry across the street from the Trinity Lutheran Church. Many have written about this local Logan, Ohio landmark. While it is not the State Champion White Oak, it is still an impressive tree. Measured at 70-feet tall, 22-feet in circumference (266 inches), with an average crown spread of 100-feet, the Logan Oak has been estimated to be between 500 and 600 years old. Give that some thought. Even being conservative, this tree began its life around the year 1500-1525 A.D.! Ohio is home to 14 National Champion Trees, meaning they are the largest of that species that have been found and recorded in the United States. To view a listing of the largest of each tree species in Ohio, visit the Ohio Division of Forestry’s webpage: https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/forestry/champion-trees/champion-trees.
So, what’s the hint of spring? In this photo are a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks sitting in the tree. They are not side by side, but time of year initiates a start to the court shipping season. Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks begin pairing up by the end of February. Nesting is usually underway by mid to late March. Look carefully and see if you can find the pair.
Apply by March 15 for ONAPA Stewardship Assistant openings
The Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association (ONAPA) is once again offering 3-6-month part-time contract positions, beginning in May, designed to assist ONAPA with stewardship activities including habitat management on nature preserves, rare plant monitoring, preserve monitoring, and administrative activities.
These activities will provide an individual recently graduated from college, or college student going into their senior year, with excellent field experience, training, and good contacts for future employment. |
Program Highlights
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Three projects completed in December and weather moves fourth to January
ONAPA finished up 2024 with three stewardship projects in December - Zimmerman Prairie on December 5, Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area - one of the prairie fringed orchid sites - on December 10, and Sears/Carmean Woods on December 17. Despite some cold, dreary weather for these projects, we still had 6-11 people working on each day to remove woody, invasive species. In January, we have had one project - January 14 - removing red cedars at Lakeside Daisy Preserve.
ONAPA finished up 2024 with three stewardship projects in December - Zimmerman Prairie on December 5, Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area - one of the prairie fringed orchid sites - on December 10, and Sears/Carmean Woods on December 17. Despite some cold, dreary weather for these projects, we still had 6-11 people working on each day to remove woody, invasive species. In January, we have had one project - January 14 - removing red cedars at Lakeside Daisy Preserve.
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November stewardship projects aides partners with their preserves
We had five important stewardship projects in November to Brown's Lake Bog, Travertine Fen, Cedar Bog, Daughmer Savanna, and Medway Prairie Fringed Orchid Site. These sites are all managed by partners other than the Division of Natural Areas & Preserves (DNAP) but are important natural areas in Ohio.
Four of the five are dedicated state nature preserves, while the Medway site is owned and managed by the City of Dayton. We worked on removing woody species at all these sites to improve the open meadow habitats of these bogs, fens, and savannas. |
Thank you to all our wonderful stewardship volunteers who have helped so much on our projects this year. We could not accomplish our partner efforts without your help and dedication, so a big THANK YOU to each of you! New projects for January-March will be posted soon.
October projects tackle woody invasives
Projects slowed down in October, as we normally wind down the season. We had five projects, including ones to Kitty Todd, Brinkhaven Oak Barrens, Cranberry Bog (photo), Erie Sand Barrens, and Clifton Gorge. These projects all involved cutting and treating woody invasive species. We also did some rare plant surveys for Virginia spiraea, a federally listed shrub, in southern Ohio with DNAP and our stewardship assistants. This work included walking along stretches of Scioto Brush Creek, looking for this rare shrub.
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